03 / THE TIME
How much school do you actually need?Long enough to transform the work. Short enough to get on with the career.
More time can absolutely mean more training. But more calendar doesn't automatically mean better training. Here's how each program uses the time you're giving it.
PUT IT ON A CALENDAR
DAD gets you working while the other two keep going.
~14 WEEKS
OUR TAKE
More time can mean more training.That doesn't automatically make it the better trade.
VCU gives you more.
Ten additional instructional weeks. Plus the graduate-school experience, a master's degree, and an optional summer internship window between years.
Miami gives you a lot more.
Thirty additional quarter-weeks. But as we just saw, Miami also uses part of that additional curriculum on production, tools, and adjacent specialist skills.
DAD chose concentration.
Fifty instructional weeks. Enough time to solve 60 briefs, generate hundreds of ideas, build the portfolio, and get to the career nine months sooner.
VCU BRANDCENTER DESCRIBES ITS PROGRAM AS 2 YEARS / 4 SEMESTERS / 60 WEEKS. ITS CURRENT CALENDAR PUTS THE SUMMER BETWEEN YEARS AT APPROXIMATELY 14 WEEKS; BRANDCENTER SAYS SUMMER INTERNSHIPS ARE OPTIONAL AND TYPICALLY RUN 8–10 WEEKS.